Al-Jahiz's Linguistic Vision: between Traditional Heritage Referentiality and Modern Linguistic Concepts

Abstract

Al-Jāḥiẓ is one of the most prominent figures in Arabic linguistic thought. In his works, he presents an integrated vision of language, its functions, and the foundations of linguistic analysis, in a way that makes it possible to understand the classical linguistic heritage within the horizon of contemporary linguistics. This paper focuses on the major linguistic issues in al-Jāḥiẓ’s works, especially the nature and functions of language, the impact of context and situation on discourse interpretation, communicative and persuasive mechanisms, style and eloquence, and the relationship between language and thought.
The study also examines how some of al-Jāḥiẓ’s insights converge with modern linguistic principles such as pragmatics, discourse analysis, argumentation theory, and cognitive linguistics, while highlighting areas of convergence and divergence between the classical tradition and contemporary linguistic scholarship. It concludes that al-Jāḥiẓ’s linguistic vision does not merely constitute a classical legacy but rather a conceptual foundation that can be fruitfully employed in modern linguistic studies, thereby underscoring the central role of the Arab-Islamic heritage in enriching contemporary linguistic theory.